A Survivors Story
by Damasta64
Summary: Living through the hell of war changes even the strongest men. After surviving his tours in the resource wars Sawyer Davis tries to settle down with his new wife Nora but war followed him home. The front lines have prepared Sawyer for the harsh realities of the wasteland but did they prepare him for the journey to avenge his wife and find his lost son?
1. Chapter 1

"War… War never changes," I muttered the beginning of my speech while wiping the mist off the mirror.

"You'll knock em dead tonight, hun," Nora, my beautiful wife, said as she entered the bathroom, looking me up and down as I dressed.

"Yeah, just nervous. Been awhile since I had to give a speech, ya know?"

Nora laughed light heartedly and wrapped her arms around my neck. She was all but hanging from my back, and planted a kiss at the base of my neck making me shiver. She studied me with a small smile for a moment while I was brushing my teeth.

"So… you can jump out of a perfectly good airplane but giving a speech makes you nervous?"

"Well, I was nervous then too," I mumbled out, tooth paste making it hard to articulate my words.

"But you survived. I'm also pretty sure there won't be any Chinese invisatroops or whatever you called them at the veterans hall today, so I don't think you have a reason to be too nervous," She said with a little grin on her face.

She let go of me and I turned around to embrace her. He slender body was warm and soft under the fabric of her pajamas. We stood there for awhile, swaying back and forth, her head tucked under my chin. We were a perfect fit, no questioning that in my mind. I planted a soft kiss on her forehead and she squeezed me a bit tighter before letting go. It was one of those simple memories that stick out in your mind as perfection. As her warmth comforted me, I couldn't help myself from reminiscing briefly over how id gotten to so lucky.

We had met when I was on leave in a bar in downtown Boston. We were both home for Christmas and she had just escaped her parents house to get a drink with friends. When I walked into that little corner bar and saw her at the counter, lazily sipping her crown and nuka, it was like the whole world dimmed so she could shine brighter. Her friends were gabbing about something but she seemed disinterested in the conversation. My friends finally forced me to introduce myself after I'd spent half an hour staring at her. At first she wanted nothing to do with me, she just waved me off like every other guy in the bar that had approached her that night. I must have bought her at least three different drinks before she let me finish my first sentence and I managed to get her to agree on a date. We ended up in a little diner for brunch the next day, we never tired of each other and spent the rest of the day flirting and wandering the streets stopping at Boston square and watching the ducks. After that we had a second one and I had to go back to the war.

It wasn't a secret, I was in love but she wasn't there just yet so I asked her the only thing I could. "Can I write to you?" her answer was yes. I was deployed to Anchorage, Alaska one month after we met. I was in the Airborne Rangers and my unit had made a habit of coming back alive from suicide missions. My whole life I had been breed for this. My father, my grandfather, and all the way back as far as we have records, my family has been in the military. I was told it was my duty to be the best I could and it landed me here on the frontline. I always did my duty with excellence but I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed it.

Alaska was a nightmare, my company parachuted in to capture a facility in the mountains that had been shelling the shit out of the boys in the trenches but all but two of us were blown off course by strong winds. My whole company died, except me and Gunnery Sergeant Benjamin Montgomery who was injured badly during the operation. I don't really want to talk about it much. After the operation I was reassigned to a marine unit that was holding the trenches.

A piece of me died in those damn trenches. The once pure white snow was stained bloody red from the bodies that had been left to freeze to the earth. After an attack, the trenches would give off steam and almost seem to hiss from the snow melting under the napalm and blood. It was hell and it was burned into my memory. I wrote to Nora every damn day during that time until I came home. Once I was home I couldn't sleep. Everything brought me back to Anchorage, everything from the thud of a door to a child crying out would send me into a panic. The only time I felt at peace was when I was with Nora. I'm sure she noticed, my hands would quiver when I was anxious. Every time I was with her and that would happen she'd take my hand and squeeze it tight. I was only back for a few weeks but we spent every waking moment together until I had to leave again. This time I went to china but it didn't last long. I got wounded and when I came home, she was waiting at the air port with a baby boy. I didn't have a ring, just my dog tags but she said yes.

We put the wedding off so she could finish her final year of school. I was getting enough disability from the military for my injuries that I could stay home with Shaun and pay for our little apartment. We got married in the summer by a creek. It was a beautiful and small affair seeing we both didn't have many friends. She wore this knee high dress with pearls that shined in the sunlight when she walked, she was so gorgeous. We bought a house in a new suburb of Boston soon after so we could be near our families.

For awhile things were great. She got a job at a law firm and I stayed home with the baby. Then the war started ramping up even more and tensions were at an all time high. The government froze the payout for all veterans benefits and various other social services to pay for the research and development of more power armor to defeat the Chinese. There was even discussion for drafting veterans back into active duty. It was this time that I started to think about our safety in case of the possibility of nuclear war. At the time Vault Tec was running a special for war veterans and we secured a spot for almost free. I started doing odd jobs for various construction crews and Nora changed her hours at the law firm so she could watch Shaun. Her parents were over quite a bit also to help us when neither of us could stay home since we couldn't afford a day care.

Today though, was like any other day except we both had the day off. I had a speech that afternoon at the veterans hall to commemorate a statue in honor of those lost in Operation Anchorage. Nora had been cooking since yesterday to prepare for the potluck after the event. We had most everything ready except to calm my nerves a little and get dressed. Nothing a little puff puff pass couldn't handle and my loving, supportive, and beautiful wife.

"Mum! Coffees ready!"

"Be right there Codsworth!" Nora called from the bedroom.

I grabbed a mug of fresh coffee off the counter and began flipping through last week's issue of Grognak the barbarian. Nora sipped her coffee loudly and glanced over at me, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively, I returned the gesture and we both tried our hardest not to laugh while drinking. I eventually lost and almost spat coffee on my lap. She got up and pinched me a little and I tried to retaliate but she skipped away. She flipped on the TV and settled on the couch.

I could hear Shaun, our son, start fussing and saying the one of the only two words he knew, "dadda," in the back bedroom. Me and Nora locked eyes and waited to see what would happen, knowing Codsworth, our Mister handy robot, was probably trying to dress him or something. He did great with Shaun normally but I could understand if Shaun thought the big guy was a little scary sometimes.

"Mr. Davis, Shaun is needing some of that paternal instinct."

"He's all yours, husband!" Nora shot me a smile that said, 'Haha! I get to be lazy!'

"Gee, Thanks, mom," I said as I got up.

She huffed a bit in annoyance at my jeer. She was turning thirty this year and was rather annoyed by it.

I hoped over the couch and walked behind Nora, gently running my hand across her shoulders as I headed towards the hall earning a smile form her. I came into the room and picked up my son. He had been standing in the middle of his room half dressed and wearing his shoes on the wrong feet. I bounced him a bit and spun around several times before blowing a little raspberry on his cheek earning a giggle that made everything seem right in the world, if only for a moment.

I gently sat him back down and took his shoes off and put them back on the right feet. I repeated the nursery rhyme my father taught me when I was little about tying your shoes. I knew Shaun wouldn't understand it yet but I figured it wasn't too early to start saying it. He was getting so big already that the thought crossed my mind that one day ill pick him up for the last time and he'll be a big boy after that. No, don't think about that, just live for today. I thought to myself as I listened to Shaun say, "Dadda," over and over.

"There's my two favorite men," Nora was leaning up against the doorway.

"You know I was thinking we should take Shaun to the park after the potluck," She came closer and leaned against me, watching Shaun rolling a wooden car back and forth. He still needed a shirt to match his little khakis.

"Will it be like that one night in the park a year ago?"I asked in a husky voice, burying my face in her long black hair. She snorted a bit when she laughed and playfully hit my shoulder.

"Maybe, if you play your cards right, big guy."

"Mr. Davis! You should come see this!" Codsworth shouted, sounding panicked.

"Codsworth, what's wrong?" Nora quickly found a random shirt for Shaun and we rushed into the living room, fearing what Codsworth could be talking about. Whatever it was, it sounded urgent.

"-ushroom clouds have been sighted in New York and Pennsylvania… we have confirmed reports of… nuclear detenation… god have mercy on us all." The news anchor held his head with his hands and began to weep. He looked like a broken man, it was a look I'd seen before, the look of a man who believes there's no hope.

"Oh god…" Nora whispered from behind me.

I leapt over the couch and threw open the door. My heart was already pounding in my ears.

"We have to get to the vault!" I yelled from the sidewalk while sirens sounded behind me

"But," she seemed to hesitate as if she was worried about our possessions.

"Nora! We need to go now!" I nearly shouted while I ran up to her and wrapped an arm around her waist pushing her forward. She seemed to snap out of it and her hazel eyes locked with mine.

Our whole neighborhood was in chaos. People were running out to their cars with suitcases, screaming, yelling, and running for whatever direction that they thought might hold salvation. That meant most of them were running for the nearby vault. I slipped a hand into the small of Nora's back and pressed her forward. We ran almost side by side, I kept it at a jog so as to not lose her in the madness. We crossed the bridge and ran up the trail to find a crowd of people begging the soldiers to let them pass. A man in T-45b power armor whirled up a mini gun to scar the crowd off.

"Let us through were on the list! Gunnery Sergeant Sawyer Davis," I shouted above the chaos.

"You're good! Go! Go! Go!" The lieutenant with the clipboard shouted back.

A man in a blue jumpsuit and a Kevlar vest pointed at us and shouted something incoherent but I knew he wanted us to follow him.

"STEP ON THE PLATFORM!" he screamed at the crowd of people around us. We all gathered on the platform, I looked to Nora and saw her crying. I gently put my hands on her shoulders and turned her towards me, Shaun was wailing loudly.

"Baby, look at me. We're gonna be ok, you hear me?" She looked at me like I was speaking a different language so I pulled her into a gentle hug.

"Were gonna be fine baby, it's gonna be ok, its gonna be ok," I mumbled into her hair and tried to focus on her scent.

"Sawyer, I'm scared," She whispered.

A bright flash, brighter then the sun, illuminated my world in a blinding white light for an eternity. I could feel the heat on my arms and I pulled Nora closer and flipped us around so the blast would hit my back. She may have screamed, I'm not sure, moments later a loud pop thundered around us and made the world shake.

"LOWER IT! LOWER IT NOW!" A man screamed out above chaos.

The floor lurched downwards and I could feel her scream something. I looked behind me for a moment and saw the mushroom cloud. It loomed over us like a god of death, taking up the whole horizon and standing infinitely tall. This is it. I hugged Nora even tighter as the floor sank just enough that the shockwave went over us. A ear splitting howl filled the narrow shaft as a torrent of wind decimated the surface above us.


	2. Chapter 2

"It's ok baby, we're ok," I whispered into Nora's hair, taking in the scent of her minty tea tree shampoo in a feeble attempt to block out the horror around me. Don't think about it, I told myself as I let her go and looked around. Everyone was standing there, stock still and in shock. I saw men and women on the floor crying. I recognized George Romero, our elderly neighbor across the street. He had the same slack jaw look the rest of us did.

He was a portly Hispanic man who had lost a leg in the resource wars. He was kind, good natured and genuine. He had helped me get settled into civilian life quickly and helped me find the programs I needed to help our little family get off on the right foot. He had been in the army and understood the struggles of living through combat. He often invited me over for a few beers or to watch a game of football on his big screen. He was a good man, I trusted him like I would my own father. He came over and put an arm around Nora who was sobbing, and offered to take Shaun for a moment, she complied. Nora cried in my arms for a moment before we were ushered up the stairs and down a walkway. Before we reached the desk where they were checking people in George handed Nora Shaun.

"Gunnery Sergeant Sawyer Davis, Nora Davis, and Shaun Davis. Alright please take a jumpsuit and follow the doctor. Staff Sergeant George Romero-" The man spoke as if he was bored, like he didn't care the world was being destroyed above us. In that moment I wanted to strangle the life out of him for being so nonchalant about the fucking apocalypse.

We quickly changed in a small dressing room before being lead down further into the vault. The man leading us down was talking incessantly about the vault and to be honest, I wasn't listening. I was completely focused on the feeling of Nora's hand in mine and the world burning above us. Eventually we were stopped in front of two rows of pods. He said something about decompressing before heading further down. Shaun began to fuss and Nora cooed at him. Her voice was obviously shaky and I rested a hand in the small of her back. I could feel her breath and it calmed me. Even if the world was gone, we still had each other.

I kissed her forehead and did the same for Shaun before heading to my pod. As the doors closed I could see Nora place a hand up and smile softly, I returned the gesture as steam hissed into my pod and the world went black

I woke up gasping. My breath came in deep wrenching huffs and my eyes snapped open. I looked around quickly realizing I couldn't move my body. My eyes rolled wildly in my head before I spotted Nora across the hall through the frosty glass.

"Nora," I tried to speak but my lips felt thick and cold.

There she was across from me, holding Shaun up slightly so I could see him through the glass. The vault, the bombs, fuck. They did it.. they really did it. Why can't we move, what's happening?

"This one here."

"Open it."

My eyes shot to the corner of the glass, three people had entered the room. Two were wearing white hazmat suits, something I hadn't seen anyone wearing in the vault before, and the third man had a leather jacket and patched cargo pants. Then I saw the large revolver. That isn't vault standard issue. One of the people in the suits was typing away at a console by Nora's pod, causing it to hiss. She began moving inside! I struggled more to move, to do anything.

When the door opened a scientist moved forward and reached for Shaun, trying to pry him away from Nora. I watched helplessly while they struggled, my heart thudding in my throat. She screamed and tried to shoved the scientist away. Her hand hooked a hose and she yanked it out, gas hissing out from the severed hose.

A gunshot echoed. Everyone flinched. Blood began blossoming from the neat little hole in Nora's blue jumpsuit, just above her left breast. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. They took Shaun and the scientists left. The bald man turned and walked over to my pod. He tapped his gun on the glass and smiled.

"Not according to plan but we always have the back up."

I screamed. My lips tearing apart as I willed my frozen body to move, to fight. He let his smile fall and calmly left my view. I struggled from my seat as the white mist filled the chamber again and my vision faded to black.

* * *

Heat was the first sensation I felt this time. The chair behind me was extremely hot and I stood up, gasping for breath again. The door swung open and I fell to the floor, my chest still heaving. I laid there for a moment, wet and gasping for air on the floor. Then I remember what had happened. I Stumbled to my feet and grabbed for the console next to Nora's pod. I mashed buttons until a Klaxon alarm sounded her her pod opened with its own hiss, except she didn't move. I ducked under the opening door and grabbed onto her, gently pulling her into my arms. I wept like a new born child for longer then I believed I could. The heat had faded from the pod and her body until it was as cold as the room we were in. I slowly lowered her back into the pod, running my fingers along her jawline. She didn't hold any pain on her face, she still looked beautiful. I put a kiss on her forehead and slipped her ring off her finger.

"I'm so sorry Nora… I… God I'm so sorry.."

I hit the button to close the pod and refroze her since I didn't have any other options at the moment. I sat on the floor and tried to process the situation. Everything I loved had just been destroyed before my own eyes. Tears welled up in my eyes again as I tried to figure out what to do. I was obviously in a vault but these pods that they said were decompression chambers were obviously something else. I'd heard of cryogenic technology before, I read comic books, but that was just it. This can't be real, it's some sort of twisted joke. I put a hand on the floor to push myself up and felt something hard digging into my palm. I picked it up and saw it was a .44 shell casing.

"Get Shaun, save him, Sawyer. Do it for me," Nora voice seemed to itch at the back of my mind at first but her voice was like a calming wave of relief. I clinched the casing in my fist.

"I'll find them," i growled out, "I'll find them and I'll kill them all, Nora. I'll get Shaun back, I promise."

Once I got my legs back I began to creep through the vault, it was empty, despite a few skeletons. The kitchen seemed to be abandoned while in the middle of cooking. Coffee cups and glasses littered the table and ancient dried remains of something sat in rusted frying pans and pots. I eventually found a computer and a handgun. The computer held a few diary entries of the previous overseer. I glanced over them for a moment to reveal the tragedy of the former staff. I eventually made my way into the atrium and found a pipboy in a pile of bones.

When I made it to the surface I found it dead. This vantage point used to be a beautiful view of Boston and the woodlands around it but now it was like a disturbing alternate reality. Some trees looked like they had been alive, judging by the leaves they were burned husks that stubbornly refused to fall. They were twisted and gnarled hunks of thick bark that seemed to reach for the sky likely claws. In the horizon I could see Boston herself, dilapidated and broken, like a scar on the skyline. The area around me was littered with skeletons and debris. The people who had sought salvation in the vault had died in a heap of twisted bones. I took a deep breath and proceeded to walk home. Where else would I go? My neighborhood was just as bleak as the rest of the world. The only sound was the low groans of trees as the breeze brushed through them and… thrusters?

"As I live and breath!"

I flipped around ,raising my pistol, only to find Codsworth, our robot butler.

"Codsworth… you're still here?"

Our conversation was short, but insightful. He explained how he had survived in his own strange way before telling me of the people of Concord. For a robot, Codsworth, seemed genuinely hurt by the news of his other masters demise but he quickly recovered with enthusiasm at the prospect of searching for Shaun. I let him lead me into the house where he set about dusting the cracked countertop. The house was a wreck to say the least. Many of the tiles were broken and peeling up. I walked through the hallway and looked up through the many visible holes that littered the roof. I rounded the corner and came to our room, pausing for a moment. The door was jammed shut and I had to call Codsworth over to help me force it open.

The door banged against the wall loudly causing the house to groan. Inside I could see a obvious defensive position. The windows had been boarded shut from the inside with pieces of our old bedroom furniture. A dresser had been moved in front of the door and the night stands were knocked over to form a makeshift barricade. By my gun safe on the far was was a skeleton with a pile of broken bobby pins and a tired red screwdriver. I looked to Codsworth and raised an eyebrow. He just ignored it and began cleaning, righting the night stands first. My ancient gun safe stood tall and weathered with dings and scratches from previous attempts to break in. After two hundred years, it was still here, still locked. I twisted the dial and put in the numbers, Nora's birthday. Inside all my firearms sat, waiting for their owner. A .308 hunting rifle, 10mm handgun, my father's old 12 gauge double barrel shotgun, and my R91 assault rifle from my service.I sat in silence cleaning my weapons and counting bullets as Codsworth chatted about the state of the area according to his recent expeditions.

Once clean I cleared the neighborhood and found nothing of note except a few extremely large cockroaches. I scavenged the few houses that weren't total wrecks and found a few shirts, a ratty pair of jeans, a set of well used work boots, and a dirty leather duster, caked in blood. I pulled the clothes on over the tight jumpsuit to add an extra layer of clothing since it was late October. Once I was more or less kitted out I gathered some of the ratty drapes and rugs and built myself a makeshift bed and started a fire in George's house. I sat on the bare tile floor and stared at the flames all night. The only thing that seemed to break my stare was the window facing my house. I watched it, no lights on, not a sole except Codsworth who had entered sleep mode in the closet as was his designation. I couldn't go in after I left, just felt wrong with how wrecked it was, I didn't dare spend the night in my own.

The next day I set out with my R91 in hand. I only had three clips total for the rifle but I figured I wouldn't need much ammo to just scout around. Plus I had two 10mm clips stuffed in my pocket plus a third in my thigh holster. If I ran into anyone I could always run away if they aren't friendly. I crossed the destroyed bridge and began the hike down the cracked highway. The walk was uneventful. The winding highway was surrounded by all sides by trees and rolling hills. At the moment they lacked leaves and were serving as a warning, winter was coming. While I walked I did my best to think of ways to sustain myself out here. So far I hadnt seen any people but obviously Codsworth had so I could assume I'm not the last man alive. I'd been taught survival skills in the military and I knew the area well so I had two big advantages. Plus I could possibly trade with anyone I run into or maybe find a community. They may have seen the man that took Shaun. It only took ten minutes to reach the Red Rocket gas station on the edge of town. I approached slowly, watching the windows and doorways for movement.

I unslung my rifle from my back and crept onward. When I was within thirty feet, I heard a rustling coming from the backside of the building by an open garage door. I froze there and listened to what sounded like a can falling onto pavement and the scrapping of claws on the ground.

 _*Bark Bark*_

I raised my rifle as a large dog came around the corner, nose to the ground. It perked its ears up when it noticed me and locked up. I slowly brought my rifle to bear and aimed for center mass. It took a few cautious steps towards me before breaking out into a trot with his head low, eyes locked on mine. It must have been some sort of German Shepard based on his shape and coloration but he was big, even for a Shepard. It didn't have any sort of collar or a clear sign of ownership so unsure of what to do I began to yell commands at it.

"Sit!"

The dog froze and cocked his head at me, ears at attention. I repeated the command but slower and with more force. My heart was thudding in my chest and I gently began to squeeze the trigger. The dog laid down and barked at me, letting its tongue lull out. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding and relaxed a bit. I carefully walked towards him and he sat up, wagging its tail excitedly. He sat before me and barked once more. I cautiously reached a hand down and he nudged it onto the top of his head, licking my hand and wrist as he went.

"Hey boy, you out here alone?"

He barked back at me. He was either alone or a really bad guard dog. I petted his head for a moment and scratched his ears but never took my eyes off the gas station.

"You wanna come with me boy? Come on, lets go."


	3. Chapter 3

I lit a cigarette and head down the road. While I walked I scanned my surroundings while the dog peed on them. The closer I got to Concord the more death I saw. Skeletons, dead animal carcasses, and boarded up houses dotted the landscape. Signs of chaos were all over town. Graffiti covered buildings and bullets holes were pock marked over several store fronts. It was a complete mess but I still hadn't seen any signs of recent human activity. I went through a few buildings, scavenging some prepackaged food that would surely be disgusting but might still be edible and a few bobby pins. When I was about to the main intersection of town I heard yelling and small arms fire.

A group of six came sprinting around a corner. I ducked down behind a burned out car and watched. Two of them had rifles and one stopped to fire. It was some sort of laser weapon that ripped through your ear drums as it burned through the air and struck a dirty looking man in rags, burning a hole straight through him. The man kept running after the others while six more came running after him. I watched while they ran into the museum at the end of the road. The group chasing them set up positions and covered another group joined and rushed the door. One of the men stopped at the door to fire a shot and was cut down as the door was rushed. A few shots was fired from inside along with the signature strike of the laser rifle.

"JESUS H. CHRIST! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" The last soldier screamed as he flipped an old oak table out onto the balcony. He fired a single shot and turned a woman's head to ash.

I watched for a moment, unsure of what to do. I didn't know who was the bad guy here but I could assume the people in rags wouldn't be so dead set on killing him if he was a bad guy. He must have had something they wanted, or else he wouldn't worth the trouble. I looked to the dog and told it to stay and it seemed to understand since it laid down. I stayed low and ran across the street to get a better angle. I hit a row of sandbags next to the burned out husk of a truck sliding into cover. I peeked out and saw a woman firing what looked like a makeshift submachine gun. I lined her up in my iron sights and hesitated.

I took a deep breath and looked at her beyond my iron sights. I breathed out and squeezed the trigger and let loose a burst of 5.56mm FMJ that hit her center mass. It tore through the armor she had cobbled together. She fell to the cracked pavement, more than likely dead. Instinct kicked in and I left cover, storming her position. As soon as my shoulder hit the car she had been behind I stood and let out a sustained burst at two men in front of me. I know I hit one of them but the other one just flinched and ducked for cover.

"I'M GONNA SKIN YA ALIVE!" One of them screamed in a taunt.

I popped out of cover in time to be tackled by a man with a switch blade who had leapt over the car. The heavy hum of the laser weapon filled the air as the man on the balcony presumably covered me. The man on top of me tried to stab me in the neck but I caught his forearm and punched him in the throat. He began choking while I pried his fingers open grabbing the knife. I managed to peel his fingers back and snatched the knife. I let his arm loose and he fell onto me and right onto his own knife. I shoved him off and shuffled to my feet, grabbing my rifle. No one else was standing and an eerie silence had settled over the firefight. I ran towards the door past a raider crying for help as he held the massive burn wound on his stomach.

"YOU! HELP US PLEASE! RAIDERS GOT MORE OF US TRAPPED INSIDE!"

I checked my magazine as I approached the door. 'Less then half left, only got two,' I thought to myself while entering the building. "Count your rounds…" I whispered to myself.

Once inside I saw the two men up on the walkway above me. I shot the one on my right in the head with a single shot. I ducked behind a pillar for cover and waited a moment before snapping out and firing four shots into the other man, who sprayed his automatic pistol in my general direction. I ran forward and tried the admission gate only to find it locked. I spotted another door that took me into an exhibit. I kept low and carefully crept into the next room.

"TAKE YOUR TEA BACK YOU JACK N' APES!"

The lights flipped on and I saw people all over the room with weapons in every direction. In a panic, I emptied my clip into a mass of them while diving for cover. I reloaded quickly, the screams and shouts of battle echoing in the room. I popped up and saw the carnage. Ten or so mannequins lay on the broken floor boards, full of bullet holes. I blinked a few times analyzing the room before coming out of cover. I tiptoed across the room and fumbled for my last clip.

"I GOT YA NOW!"

A man rushed into the door way, holding a three foot section of pipe like a bat. He swung it at my face and I stumbled backwards, the pipe just brushing the tip of my nose. I brought my rifle up to block the next powerful swing, making me stumble back and fall. He howled in primal rage and swung his pipe down on me. I held up my rifle to block the flurry of blows till he aimed for my left hand. I howled in pain and dropped the rifle. The pipe found its way to my throat along with all of his weight while I struggled. From here I could see the dirt and grim coating the man's skin and the scars that crisscrossed his face that had a sadistic smile. He laughed while I struggled to push him off.

Desperately, I reached up trying to grab his face, anything I could pulled, or gouge. I swung a right hook into his ribs, he seemed to shake it off like nothing. He laughed in a rough voice and let up a moment to let me gasp for a breath before slamming the pipe down harder, making me want vomit. I kept throwing weak punches as he laughed in my face.

"When I'm done with you, I'm gonna hang ya from the balcony and let the crows peck out your eyes," He whispered to me while leaning in close, his rank breath burning my nose. I could see myself in his pupils that were the size of saucers. I tried to push him away but I could feel myself shutting down. A brown blur slammed into the man, throwing him off me.

Coughing and choking I rolled to my hands and knees. I grabbed the first thing I could find, a splintered piece of wood from a broken display case. I stumbled over to the scene, the dog had the man by the leg and was keeping him busy on the ground. I mustered my strength and drove the splintered board into the man's gut. He let out a guttural scream and thrashed about, trying to get away but the dog ran forward and began to maul his face. It got a hold of his throat and latched on, shaking it's muzzle viciously.

I backed up and fell on my ass. The screaming and shouting over the loud speakers was deafening. Artillery fell and collapsed our bunker. Bodies, arms, legs lying in the snow. The screaming and shouting as we dug to save our brothers before the Chinese charge again. We're too late. More screams and a rush of heat, flame throwers.

"Aroo?"

Chocolate eyes were inches from my face. I was sitting on the floor beside a dead man while the dog pawed at me. Get up and fight. I inspected my hand and found it wasn't broken just bruised all to hell and missing quite a bit of hide. I wrapped what I could in old cloth and duct tape before I stood and grabbed my R91. After checking it over quite I saw the slide was beat to hell and stuck from being struck by that pipe repeated. I threw it down and slipped the pistol from its thigh holster with a sigh. I didn't want to go further but it was far to late to go back. I creeped up the stairs and down a corridor with the dog hot on my heels, his maw still bloody and his ears flat.

"Man let's just get outta here!"

"No we stay here and wait for the others."

"Don't you hear that? Someone's out there shooting up the place! We got no reason to stand around and get sho-"

He never finished the sentence. I put two rounds into his back and turned the gun on his friend, firing three shots into his chest. They both died quickly and I continued my trek upwards. I ended up on a room next to the balcony hall. There were two more of those thugs trying to break the door down. The crumbling plaster wall had several large holes in it so I crouched down and peeked through. I could just make out the thigh of the second man and I took aim. I fired rapidly putting five shots into his upper thigh and left ass cheek. He wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. I retreated back beside a nuke cola machine waiting for his buddy to come through the door.

He crashed through the wall, machete in hand. I fired two shots into his chest but he just didn't stop. I ducked out of the way and fired two more shots into his lower back. He stumbled but turned around with a mad gaze in his eyes. He was nearly foaming at the mouth, blood pouting from the several bullet wounds. He charged and I shot him two more times before he hit the wood floor with a heavy thud. I waited a second before grabbing his machete. I stepped through the ruined wall and the door at the end of the hall swung open and the man from the balcony shouted at me to hurry. I jogged into the room and he slammed the door shut. Another man shoved a bookcase down in front of the door.

"I don't know who you are but your timing is impeccable. Preston Garvy, commonwealth minuteman."

I shook the man's out stretched hand. He was a well built fellow with a scar running across his cheek. He was obviously a fighter, having the ability to hold off those men for this long alone. He was the only one with a real weapon by the looks of it, everyone else in the room seemed content to just wait for death with shallow faces except for the old woman. She seemed perfectly ok with the situation at hand.

"Glad I could help."

"Things are quiet at the moment but they wont be for long. You care to help us some more?"

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't," I said as I followed him over to the window by the balcony.

"Alright," he said while peeking out of the curtains, "Sturgis, care to tell him the plan?"

"Alright, so here's the plan. There's some pristine power armor and a crashed vertibird on the roof. It needs one of them old fusion cores to run and I know where to get one," Sturgis beamed. "There's one in the basement running the last old generator. If we're lucky, we can get that power armor and pull the mini gun off the vertibird."

"And wipe out the rest of them. Just might work.." I said while snapping a few bullets into my pistols clip.

"It's got too or we're all dead," Sturgis said while hiding a slight chuckle.

I helped Preston and Sturgis unbarricade the door and escorted Sturgis to the maintenance cage downstairs and we broke into the generator room. Once we had the fusion core we ran for the safety of the room. I took a short breather once we were safe again and talked to Preston about what exactly was going on. He told me how they were on the run after being attacked by raiders, that's what he called them, in Lexington. He told me they were settlers just looking for a new home after Quincy was ransacked. I didn't know what the fuck he was talking about but I figured at the moment it wasn't worth asking. Before I could leave the old woman grabbed me and pulled me aside. I hadn't noticed but the dog had left me to sit by her while I had been running around.

"I see dogmeat brought us something real special. He's a real special one and he'll follow you from now on."

"Yeah… he's a good dog," I said wearily, the old lady creeped me out a bit to be honest.

"Well there's more to it then that but right now you need to be strong. Be strong for us like you were always strong for her cause there's something real bad coming kid. It's real angry, you got to be strong and keep you're wits about you. Don't stop fighting, honey," she squeezed my hand lightly and when she spoke her voice seemed to be hiding a brighter, younger voice. I shook her hand off and took a step away.

"How do you know that?"

"I saw it," she winked and relaxed back into the couch.

I shook my head and made my way to the roof, ignoring the old lady's ramblings. When I got there I found the armor and the vertibird like Sturgis had said. I shoved the F.C. into the back of the rusted power armor and unlocked it. It opened up and I climbed inside, the lights dazzling my eyes in the late evening. A loud clunk and a hiss of air as the suit sealed me in. Stale oxygen began pumping into the helmet before I switched it out of hazmat mode. The armor must have been used last when the air was still toxic after the bombs fell. I flexed the arms and shook the rust from it's ancient servos before taking my first steps. I Stomped over to the crashed vertibird and grabbed the tripod and twisted, breaking the legs that held the gun in place.

Power armor was made with heavy weapons in mind and the battery operated mini gun was no different. I popped out the cord from the dead battery pack that was attached to the gun and plugged it into my right arm socket. An ammo counter popped up on my HUD and a message flashed, weapon system activated. I forced my way through the other side door in the vertibird and walked to the edge of the building.

"Hey! There's one up there!"

I locked onto the raider that appeared across from me on the adjacent building. The crosshairs in my suit lit up and I squeezed the trigger. The servos in the power armor synced with the recoil of the gun and held it perfectly still as I let out a short burst. The raider turned into hamburger before I could let off the trigger.

"Oh so you got a fancy gun and a new suit and you think you're all that? We-"

I locked on their position and let out a sustained burst and swept the area above the cars and sandbags. There was two of them at least, it was getting dark and the night vision wasn't working so my visibility was beginning to fail. There wasn't any heads poking up right now so I moved closer to the edge of the building. I was probably two stories up, power armor had a limit and I felt I could push it just a bit this one time. I stepped off the edge and free fell two stories. Splinters of concrete and dust clouded my visor for a moment before I stood, servos whining in protest from the abuse. I walked slowly to the closest car, surveying my surroundings as I went. When I reached the car three raiders came running down the street.

I let the assisted targeting do most the work and fired a long burst at chest level. Red mist was all I could see in the waning sun. Four more came running out of a nearby diner firing their weapons in my general direction. I ducked low when a tracer pinged off the car and side stepped clumsily. I lined up my cross hairs on them and fired a burst, killing two. The others tripped and stumbled over each other as they scrambled for cover. One more sustained burst and they slumped over.

I moved down the street slowly, keeping an eye on the windows around me. When I made it to the end of the street a sharp whistle came from my left. Ten or so raiders emerged, we both raised our weapons and I spooled my gun but a loud banging interrupted us. A car in the intersection tipped slightly and rocked back down. Another bang, this time the ground shook and the car flipped over. A large slab if metal that had been covering a large hole for utility work was thrown into the building behind the flipped car. A ear drum shattering roar filled me with terror and I began to back up.

The raiders were as shocked as I was when the monstrosity stepped forward. It was at least twelve feet tall and looked like some sort of demon. Each finger was tipped with a six inch claw that looked razor sharp and it had horns that curved down like a rams. It stomped it's foot , sending up dust while letting out a roar that made my heart drop into my stomach. I spooled my gun to let out a burst but the raiders beat me too it. Lucky for me it turned and faced them, charging on all fours and leaping into their lines. As it rain I could see the muscles under it's dark leathery skin work. The thing was an apex predator, a true killing machine.

I fired short bursts at it while backing up quickly. Ropes of blood and severed limbs were being tossed about as the demon shredded the raiders. I was getting near the museum again when it turned it's attention to me. I hardly had time to spool the barrels before it was running full bore at me on all fours. I didn't bother conserving ammo this time, laying on the trigger in panic. It dodged and weaved through the hail off bullets but I knew my shots were connecting. It climbed the side of a building and leapt into the evening air, it's powerful legs were more then enough to close the distance. It landed maybe ten feet from me and I aimed for its head, never letting off the trigger. My barrels were glowing red now and were in the verge of melting when the gun clicked empty. The creature grabbed my gun with lightening quick speed and threw it across the road. I backed up, clenching my fists and staring down my death.

"I'm sorry Nora," I whispered to myself.

It was far to fast for something its size and before I knew it it grabbed me. It lifted me into the air by the arm and I struggled, throwing clumsy punches. It roared once more, directly into my face. I toggled the emergency eject on the suit and its back flung open, I slipped out and fell to the pavement. I still had my pistol so I drew it and fired a whole clip into the monsters abdomen. To my surprise I got a response. It threw the armor into the ground hard, crumbling it like a tin can while a claw tipped hand grabbed at its stomach. It threw its arms open in a show of defiance and let out a mighty howl.

I quickly reloaded and was able to empty half my clip into the existing wound causing it screamed in pain. This time it back handed me and sent me flying through a window into the bar on the corner. I hit the counter and felt my rib cage crunch under the strain. The whole building shook when the demon slammed into the side, forcing it's horned head through a window. It roared in murderous rage when its horns got stuck on the thick old studs. I pushed myself up, dazed from my recent flight and aimed at its face. The demon had had dark scales to camouflage itself but now it glistened with fresh blood from it's still bleeding wounds. I wondered how much of that was it's own and how much was human for a brief moment before I fired the rest of my clip, aiming at its eyes.

It roared and attempted to yank its head free. It only managed to shake the old building before it stumbled and fell. I reloaded and fired another whole clip into his eye socket that now resembled ground beef. After my last shot it went limp and one last deep heavy breath signaled the fight was won. I collapsed back and laid on the floor, staring up at the rotting ceiling. I was alive, and it felt good. I crawled out of the building and began limping back to the museum. I definitely had at least one broken rib but I knew I'd survive. Maybe I could get one of the survivors to shoot a stimpak into me.

I pushed the door open and found them all standing in the foyer waiting for the all clear. When Preston saw the shape I was in he shouldered his gun and helped me limp to a rotting bench.

"Man, I can't thank you enough. Here, it's not much but thanks," he said as he handed me a bag of something that clicked like coins.

"Thanks but I didn't do it for money."

"Oh well, thanks. Not many people would just jump into a fight like that to save someone they've never met."

"I couldn't just stand by. Could you give me a hand? Think I broke a rib."

I handed Preston the stimpak and began explained how to use it but he hushed me and stuck me. A young woman that was sat next to a sulking man who I presumed to be her husband criticized Prestons heavy handed approach but I thought he did as well as any field medic I'd met. Once I was stimmed and the burn was beginning to subside I rejoined the group. I'd planned to say my goodbye and move on fast but the old woman pulled me aside.

"Come with us kid, your destiny is tied to ours."

Destiny, that was something I'd never believed in. If destiny was real then I was getting sick of it jerking me around like this. I usually have a good handle on my temper but the idea that I should just be ok with all this because it was my destiny fueled a fire in me that burned all to bright. How could I be ok with this? With the whole world destroyed? My whole life had been yanked out from under me and now I sat in the ruins of my old world. This was a nightmare, this was fucking hell. My rage boiled up in me for a moment and I lashed out.

"Don't give me that destiny bullshit," I growled out.

"You just went toe to toe with a giant lizard and you can't believe in destiny?" Preston jumped in to the old woman's aid.

"Calm down Preston not everyone can believe the sight without a little proof first," she hushed him and stood on shaky old legs. "I know who you are kid, and what you were."

"You don't know anything abo-"

"Ah but I do, Sawyer. Listen come with us, you can't do this on your own. You'll need Preston's help, just as much as he needs yours."

Her liver spotted hands wrapped around mine and squeezed it tight. The fire in my belly seemed to wither under the gaze of her hazy blue eyes. I gently pulled away and sighed.

"Fine. We should move fast though it's getting dark. Where were you headed?" I looked to Preston.

"Sanctuary!" the old woman spoke up with enthusiasm and Preston just nodded to her. The survivors gathered their meager belongings and we set out. My heart grew heavy as we began the trek back.


End file.
